Delegate Dance will be heavily favored to win the special election Nov. 4 to fill out the final year of Mr. Marsh’s term. He resigned the seat to become a well-paid member of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.

All that’s standing in Delegate Dance’s way is Richmond businessman Preston T. Brown. He plans to challenge Delegate Dance as an independent in the Nov. 4 election. The winner will have to run for re-election next year for a full four-year term.

Petersburg counted 1,411 ballots, or 6.6 percent of the city’s more than 21,000 registered voters. Richmond counted 1,292, or 3.8 percent of the nearly 34,000 residents registered to vote in the 16th Senate District.

Delegate Dance came out of Petersburg with an 810 to 346 vote edge over Delegate McQuinn, a margin of 464 more ballots cast in her favor.

“I love Petersburg, and they proved that they love me back,” Delegate Dance gushed in a Facebook post after her win.

Delegate Dance also gained a 282 edge in votes over Delegate McQuinn among voters in Hopewell, Prince George and Dinwiddie and had a net gain of 216 votes in Chesterfield County.

Delegate McQuinn, who received the explicit support of state Democratic Party Chairman and city Mayor Dwight C. Jones, easily won in Richmond, but only 916 voters turned out in the capital city, voting 764 to 152 in her favor.

She did not respond to Free Press queries.

It was a big show of support by Petersburg, where nearly 80 percent or more than 25,000 of the city’s population of 32,000 are African-Americans.

The recession and government cutbacks at nearby Fort Lee have hammered the city.

Data show more than one in four Petersburg residents live at or below the poverty level and more than 40 percent of the city’s children live in poverty.

Delegate Dance has represented the 63rd House district since 2005 and previously served 12 years as Petersburg’s mayor and a member of City Council.

Some pundits claimed Mr. McCollum’s 11th-hour entry into the race paved the way for Delegate Dance by siphoning crucial votes from Delegate McQuinn.